If you're frustrated by fees, you're not alone. Consumers are facing additional charges from "inflation fees" to "supply chain surcharges."
Let Joe Know viewer Joan Simonetti is questioning a "cost recovery fee" issued by Brinks Home Security. Simonetti says she first noticed the fee in 2017. At the time it was just a few cents, but now it's a monthly fee of $6.40. That fee is on top of the $24.99 Simonetti already pays for her contract.
Simonetti questioned the fee's legality and reached out to the Let Joe Know team.
The fee is legal. Companies and service providers are allowed to cover any fee that is imposed on them for operating their service.
A Brinks Home Security spokesperson emailed us, writing: By the end of 2022, the company is estimated to spend ~$125 million on 2G and 3G technology upgrades as cellular companies eliminate previous-generation technologies. The cost recovery fee is charged by the company to fairly recoup a portion of such fees.
But aren't upgrades just the cost of doing business?
"That's what you're paying $24.99 for," Simonetti argued. "You shouldn't have to have another fee to help them recover whatever losses."
Brinks does disclose their cost recovery fee on their website.
Teresa Murray, a Consumer Watchdog with the Arizona Public Interest Research Group, believes that while businesses have a right to set their prices and add fees, they should be more upfront.
"By adding fees at the end, a business can seem more competitive with its pricing when it's really not the actual cost to the consumer. And we think that's wrong," Murray said.
Consumers can be proactive:
- Ask about all fees up front and search a company's website for disclosures.
- Try to negotiate a lower base rate. Fees are often charged as a percentage of the overall bill so this could help you save.
- Read all documents before you sign.
- Keep records for yourself, including names and dates when you talk to a representative.
Murray encourages people to remember: consumers have power.
"Raise the bar for what we expect from companies. And as long as we're passive about it and don't question fees or don't protest, then companies are going to keep on doing it."
Find resources and tips on how to avoid or fight fees here.
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